TALKING POINTS

Some of the notable tidbits from Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff's address to the media:

On the play of Dustin Byfuglien, who finished fifth on the team in scoring (eight goals, 20 assists):

"He had a pretty inconsistent year as well. At time he was very, very impactful with us in a lot of different ways. He's got the ability to make the 'Wow!' plays and pull people out of their seats for some of the things. He's a very unique player with his size and skating ability and puck-handling ability. He's a very tough player to handle when he has the puck and the plays he can make.

"On the defensive side of it, you'd like Buff to be better. I could say that about a lot of our defence. When it comes to Buff, I don't think we can be totally satisfied with anybody's play this year because we didn't make the playoffs, we didn't get to the next step. Everyone's got to be pushed, him included."

On the work of Olli Jokinen, the big signing in last year's free-agent market for the Jets, after his seven goals, seven assists, team-worst minus-19 rating this season:

"We were anticipating he would give us another option on the top two lines. I think Olli had a very inconsistent year and he's the first one to tell you he was disappointed with how it went."

On the injury front, LW Evander Kane will be seeing a specialist about his wrist before a decision is made on surgery (he also finished the season playing with a foot injury); Mark Stuart played with a "significant lower-body injury" that will be checked out by doctors.

On finding more top-six punch:

"We talked about it at the trade deadline. I would have loved to have found a speedy right- winger that could fit with Evander both in the short term and the long term and I wasn't able to find that. Will that be something that gets drafted over the course of time, gets traded for, gets signed in free agency? Those are all the things we're going to evaluate, the opportunities that are out in front of us."

On what he said to the team in its exit meetings:

"I talked to them about the fact that Game 1 matters, Game 2 matters, Game 7 matters, Game 15, 25... whatever on down the line, it matters. And that could have been the one game or the two games or three games that could have given us the points we needed to get in, to get where we wanted to be.

"We needed to find a way to be more consistent."

On whether first-round picks Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba will get a shot at cracking the big club next fall:

"... the opportunity is there in front of them. There is some projection on our part as to what extent do you create opportunities for them. But that creating space could happen now, it could happen at training camp, it could happen a month into the season."

-- Tait

They call it a 'tell' in poker. It's a tip -- usually coming via a physical reaction, a habit or behaviour -- that can help a player judge what kind of hand an opponent might have, good or bad.

We bring this up after spending a half hour listening to Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff in his annual post-season state-of-the-franchise media address on Wednesday that touched on a lot of subjects, but was thin on detail.

And, of course, that's exactly as the Jets boss wants it. You see, if dealing with the media is akin to game of poker, then we can freely admit that Cheveldayoff is killing it with a ginormous stack of chips piled up in front of him.

A couple of examples:

-- When asked about the status of coach Claude Noel, who is entering the final year of his contract: "Claude Noel is the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets. He's under contract."

And then, without taking a breath, he added:

"I know you're going to ask me about an extension. There's processes that have to go through, there's different things you discuss, you talk about, you meet as a group, as a staff. We met with the coaches the other day and we talked about a lot of the things I'm talking about here: 'How do you get better? What are you going to do? What's your plan?' "

"There's lots of work that needs to be done there. There's lots of work that has started behind the scenes. Are we negotiating with anyone yet? No. We haven't started, but those are things that sitting here May 1, there's a lot of work ahead."

And so it went, the whole session left most with a strange sensation, kind of like leaving an all-you-can-eat buffet still sporting hunger pains.

But through it all there were a couple of tells that did hint at what this summer might be like for the Jets GM.

You could sense his frustration after another season of inconsistent hockey that has left the franchise with a modest on-paper improvement but still without a playoff berth.

"The hard part for me is knowing how close we were," said Cheveldayoff. "You see teams in the playoffs right now with 25-26 wins and in the middle of the pack in the playoffs. Just to sit back and think maybe there was a game or two where you could have got a point or swayed a point the other way and you're sitting there with 26 wins."

And then there was this answer to a question about fans who want change and how hard it is to ask for patience in a win-right-stinking-now environment:

"There's not a moment that goes by that I don't think about that," said Cheveldayoff. "There's not a day for, whatever reason it is, that we don't think about how we're going to get this team better and what can we do different. Rest assured that whenever we feel there's an opportunity in front of us that can help us, we're going to do it. But to try and manufacture something, this sport doesn't happen that way."

All of this, in a roundabout way, brings us to this conclusion: For the first time since he was named GM, Cheveldayoff has a real opportunity to put his stamp on the franchise. Let's face it, of the list of nine unrestricted free agents -- Nik Antropov, Kyle Wellwood, Mike Santorelli, Antti Miettinen, Aaron Gagnon, Ron Hainsey, Grant Clitsome, Derek Meech and Al Montoya -- none would be labelled franchise cornerstones.

He won't be handcuffed by cumbersome contracts from a previous regime or a declining salary cap that may have teams dumping talent. He's got his own draft picks like Mark Scheifele, Jacob Trouba, Adam Lowry and Zach Yuen ready to turn pro, either here or in St. John's.

More than anything, Cheveldayoff understands his team needs more talent and more depth developing in Newfoundland. And you get the sense -- because he's certainly not dropping many hints -- that he likes the core he has, but now has the chance to surround it with their own players, not castoffs from other clubs or remnants of the past bosses.

A big summer? Yeah, you could say that.

"We've got to get better," Cheveldayoff said. "We've got to find ways, whether it's finding other free agents that fit the mould or continuing the slow process of drafting and developing our young players.

"We're two years into my tenure as general manager. Hopefully now we'll start seeing some of the fruits of our labour with respect to drafting. Even still, the process of drafting a player two years ago doesn't mean they step right into the National Hockey League."

That's a tell and a cover-up all in one answer. The real proof will come soon enough in the next few months and the moment Cheveldayoff starts laying some cards on the table.

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You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments.
All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.